Back in the fall we began a walk through, in my column, many of the different parts of the Mass, looking at what we do & why we do it. We had gotten through the first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, and then Advent began, then Christmas, then Lent soon after that, & we got a bit off course from our walk through the Mass. Now that we’re in the Easer season I wanted to get us back on course & pick up where I believe we left off.

  Prior to the beginning of the Advent season we had walked through the first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, looking at the meaning behind such parts of the Mass as the Sign of the Cross, the Penitential Rite, the Collect, the kissing of the Altar & the Gospel Book, etc. Today, I want to pick up with the part of the Mass that used to be known as the General Intercessions, but is now more commonly known as the Universal Prayers. These are the prayers, following the creed, where we respond along the lines of, “Lord, hear our prayer.” In paragraph 69 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (the instruction book for Mass, we read, “ In the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in some sense to the Word of God which they have received in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal Priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all.” The Universal prayers, which serve to make a connection between the Eucharist & our daily life have a basic structure to them.

  While other prayers may be added as needed, the basic structure that the Church sets forth is: a) for the needs of the Church; b) for public authorities and the salvation of the whole world; c) for those burdened by any kind of difficulty; & d) for the local community. These prayers are meant to be, as the name suggests, universal in nature, meaning that the entire assembly should be able to connect with each of the prayers. They should avoid being too overly specific in nature or too negatively worded. The Universal prayers are also prayers & therefore are meant to be asking God for our needs & not in thanksgiving for something. So, for example, rather than praying “In thanksgiving for all our ministers,” we pray, “For all of our ministers, that they may be strengthened to serve…”

  May we continue to pray for all those in need & may we have a blessed week!